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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Emil Salim [Indonesia, Minister Of Environment], Emil Salim
Emil Salim [Indonesia, Minister Of Environment], Emil Salim
Digital Narratives of Asia
Emil Salim was part of the famed Berkeley Mafia who brought Indonesia out of its economic crisis in the mid-1960s. He later went on to become Minister of Environment in President Suharto's cabinet. He speaks to DNA about how he overcame obstacles in his career, even when he did have subject knowledge, and what it was like working with President Suharto.
Goenawan Mohamad [Indonesia, Editor Of Tempo], Goenawan Mohamad
Goenawan Mohamad [Indonesia, Editor Of Tempo], Goenawan Mohamad
Digital Narratives of Asia
Goenawan Mohamad is the founder of Indonesia's Tempo magazine and a leading voice of democracy in the country. As founding editor, Mr Goenawan had to make the tough call of whether to continue Tempo's critical reporting of the government and face a ban, or toe the line to ensure survival. DNA talks to him about how he came to his decision and stuck to his principles, as well as his take on the many Indonesian leaders he has observed.
Appealing To The Masses Understanding Ethnic Politics And Elections In Indonesia (Doctoral Dissertation), Colm A. Fox
Appealing To The Masses Understanding Ethnic Politics And Elections In Indonesia (Doctoral Dissertation), Colm A. Fox
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The mobilization of ethnic groups during elections is seen by many as one of the greatest threats to democracy in ethnically diverse societies. Two important questions are: Why does ethnicity become politicized in some elections, but not in others? and Why do particular ethnic categories become politicized, while others do not? Two arguments in the literature offer explanations. The first argument posits that groups are mobilized along ethnic lines when voters have strong emotional allegiances to their ethnic group; in effect, the ethnic politicization of elections is viewed as a reflection of societal ethnic cleavages. A second argument focuses on …
Between Evangelism And Multiculturalism: The Dynamics Of Christianity In Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Between Evangelism And Multiculturalism: The Dynamics Of Christianity In Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Christianity has experienced rapid growth in Indonesia, particularly the Evangelical and Pentecostal/Charismatic movements, which find fertile ground among the urban middle class. This phenomenon has given rise to fears of Christianisation among the Muslim majority, who perceive the Christian growth as a moral threat. Tensions between Christians and Muslims have been part and parcel of religious developments in Indonesia. The author addresses the ways in which Protestant churches in Indonesia negotiate between evangelism (to fulfil the ‘Great Commission’) on the one hand, and multiculturalism (peaceful coexistence with difference) on the other. The article will examine how Christians in Indonesia navigate …
Rugged Regulatory Landscapes, Singapore Management University
Rugged Regulatory Landscapes, Singapore Management University
Perspectives@SMU
Indonesia’s miners are adept at scaling the country’s rugged regulatory landscape. But their legendary resilience may be put to the test in 2014. Written by Dharma Djojonegoro, President Director of Indonesian mining services provider PT Multi Nitrotama Kimia (MNK).
Multicultural Citizenship Education In Indonesia: The Case Of A Chinese Christian School, Chang Yau Hoon
Multicultural Citizenship Education In Indonesia: The Case Of A Chinese Christian School, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
This study investigates how multicultural citizenship education is taught in a Chinese Christian school in Jakarta, where multiculturalism is not a natural experience. Schoolyard ethnographic research was deployed to explore the reality of a ‘double minority’ — Chinese Christians — and how the citizenship of this marginal group is constructed and contested in national, school, and familial discourses. The article argues that it is necessary for schools to actively implement multicultural citizenship education in order to create a new generation of young adults who are empowered, tolerant, active, participatory citizens of Indonesia. As schools are a microcosm of the nation-state, …
Evolving Chineseness, Ethnicity And Business: The Making Of The Ethnic Chinese As A ‘Market-Dominant Minority’ In Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Evolving Chineseness, Ethnicity And Business: The Making Of The Ethnic Chinese As A ‘Market-Dominant Minority’ In Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The ethnic Chinese in Indonesia play a very significant role in the nation’s economy. Their dominance in the Indonesian economy is often seen as disproportionate to their numbers, as reflected in the popular assertion that “the Chinese constitute only 3.5 percent of the population but control 70 percent of Indonesia’s economy”. In the New York Times bestseller, World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability, Amy Chua (2004) identified Chinese Indonesians as one of the “ market-dominant minorities” in the world. Her book highlights the double bind of free market democracy: it privileges certain …
Secularity, Religion And The Possibilities For Religious Citizenship, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon
Secularity, Religion And The Possibilities For Religious Citizenship, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Scholarly predictions of the secularization of the world have proven premature. We see a heterogeneous world in which religion remains a significant and vital social and political force. This paper reflects critically upon secularization theory in order to see how scholars can productively respond to the, at least partly, religious condition of the world at the beginning of the twenty first century. We note that conventional multiculturalism theory and policy neglects religion, and argue the need for a reconceptualization of understanding of religion and secularity, particularly in a context of multicultural citizenship — such as in Australia and Indonesia. We …
The Spirit-Mediums Of Singkawang: Performing Peoplehood Of West Kalimantan, Margaret Chan
The Spirit-Mediums Of Singkawang: Performing Peoplehood Of West Kalimantan, Margaret Chan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Chinese New Year in the West Kalimantan town of Singkawang is marked by a parade featuring hundreds of possessed spirit-mediums performing self-mortification and blood sacrifice. The event is a huge tourist draw, but beyond the spectacle, deeper meanings are enacted. The spirit-medium procession stages a fraternity of Dayak, Malay and Chinese earth gods united in the purpose of exorcising demons from the neighborhood. The self-conscious presentation of the Chinese as brethren among pribumi [sons-of-the-soil] Dayak and Malay, proposes the Chinese as belonging to the ‘peoplehood’ of West Kalimantan.
Local Successes In Encouraging Participatory Irrigation Management: Policy Lessons From Indonesia, Jacob I. Ricks, Sigit Supadmo Arif
Local Successes In Encouraging Participatory Irrigation Management: Policy Lessons From Indonesia, Jacob I. Ricks, Sigit Supadmo Arif
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Despite decades of promotion, efforts to encourage participatory irrigation management often falter. Nowhere is this more true that on the island of Java, Indonesia where multiple programmes and millions of dollars have resulted in few effective water user associations. Even so, pockets of participatory success exist. We present findings from one locally developed water user association training programme found in Yogyakarta, Indonesia that has experienced relative success in encouraging farmer participation. We then derive policy lessons from this case.
Stories For Today: A Contemporary Artist Brings New Life To A Moribund Indonesian Theatre Genre, Margaret Chan
Stories For Today: A Contemporary Artist Brings New Life To A Moribund Indonesian Theatre Genre, Margaret Chan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Dani Iswardana is single-minded about his mission to inject new life into wayang beber, perhaps the oldest form of Indonesian narrative theatre, but now described as a dying art. The intensity of his purpose buoys Dani through long stretches of painting when food is forgotten and his work, fuelled by coffee and cigarettes, is all that he cares for. However Dani has gone for years without producing anything, because he will work only when the creative spirit possesses him. Painting for money means nothing to him, and the everyday demands of making a living have no place in his creative …
Learning To Belong, Lyn Parker, Raihani Raihani, Chang Yau Hoon
Learning To Belong, Lyn Parker, Raihani Raihani, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Educational efforts are being made around the country to enable minorities to feel they belong and to teach majorities that they should value the diversity of Indonesia. The cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity of Indonesia is famed around the world and accepted within Indonesia. The national motto of ‘Unity in Diversity’ places diversity at the centre of the nation-state. But despite significant progress in democratisation, decentralisation and regional autonomy in post-Suharto Indonesia, old fears of federalism, separatism and disunity remain. Multiculturalism and pluralism are still often viewed with suspicion and paranoia is spread by extremists for their own ends.
Affirming Difference, Chang Yau Hoon
Affirming Difference, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Elite Christian schools in Indonesia can become places where religious, ethnic and class identities are heightened, particularly in relation to the nation’s ethnic Chinese. Exceptional academic performance, faith education, strict discipline and a safe environment are some of the factors that attract ethnic Chinese to enrol their children into elite Christian schools in Indonesia. In fact, these schools have become a thriving business across major cities, generating handsome profits from the provision of high quality education. They are generally attended by Chinese Indonesian students from a middle and upper class background. The schools are equipped with much better facilities than …
Imagining “Indonesia”: Ethnic Chinese Film Producers In Pre-Independence Cinema, Charlotte Setijadi, Thomas Barker
Imagining “Indonesia”: Ethnic Chinese Film Producers In Pre-Independence Cinema, Charlotte Setijadi, Thomas Barker
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In this paper, we aim to re-examine the roles of ethnic Chinese filmmakers in Indonesian cinematic history as a preliminary study in the reconsideration of the early years of the film industry. Here, we regard the simplification of history in the film industry as part of a broader attempt by nationalist and New Order ideologues to “appropriate” the origins of cinema and “ ” in Indonesia. On the same note, we argue that the narrative tradition that privileges “indigenous” filmmakers as the originators of asli (authentic ortrue) Indonesian culture on screen reflects the dominant yet narrow definition of nationalism as …
Celebrating Community: A Chinese Temple Procession Brings Chinese Culture To Life In Jakarta’S Streets, Margaret Chan
Celebrating Community: A Chinese Temple Procession Brings Chinese Culture To Life In Jakarta’S Streets, Margaret Chan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Chinese temples from all over Java staged what was probably Jakarta’s largest ever Chinese religious festival. Accompanied by musicians, lion and dragon dancers, hundreds of devotees paraded through the streets of Glodok, Jakarta’s Chinatown.
Chinese New Year In West Kalimantan: Ritual Theatre And Political Circus, Margaret Chan
Chinese New Year In West Kalimantan: Ritual Theatre And Political Circus, Margaret Chan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Since 2002, when Chinese New Year became a national holiday in Indonesia, spirit medium parades on the fifteen day of the New Year (called Cap Go Meh) have been growing in size in certain West Kalimantan towns, especially Singkawang. This parade in particular has become a major tourist draw-card. Referring to local history, Chinese popular religion and Hakka culture, this article applies a performance analysis methodology to dissect this contemporary phenomenon from religious, historical and inter-ethnic perspectives. It shows how the parades have become enmeshed in current inter-ethnic politics in West Kalimantan, as well as revealing the way that adaptations …
The Politics Of Imlek, Chang Yau Hoon
The Politics Of Imlek, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Imlek is a time for colourful parades featuring dances of the lion and other puppets, and performances of Chinese folk rituals on the streets and in Chinese temples. Imlek is also celebrated at Sunday mass in a Catholic church with performances of Chinese songs and dances. The church is decorated in lucky colour red from its carpet to its candles, including the priests’ robes. Decorations and ornaments in the lucky colour red, representing Chineseness, together with Chinese cultural performances like the dragon and lion dances have become products of mass consumption in post-Suharto Indonesia. Major shopping malls decorate their interior …
More Than A Cultural Celebration: The Politics Of Chinese New Year In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
More Than A Cultural Celebration: The Politics Of Chinese New Year In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In the aftermath of the May 1998 riots that forced President Suharto to step down, ethnic Chinese received unprecedented freedom to assert their long suppressed cultural and religious identity. Following the transition from assimilation to multiculturalism, for the first time in over three decades Chinese culture became more visible and ethnic Chinese could finally enjoy the freedom to celebrate Chinese New Year (Imlek) publicly. This article focuses on the politics of the re-emergent Chinese New Year celebration in the Indonesian public sphere. It demonstrates the significance of Imlek as an ethnic symbol to Chinese-Indonesians. Borrowing Hobsbawm’s concept of “invented tradition”, …
Economics Of Competition': A Study Of Low-Cost Manufacturing Enclaves In Batam Island, Indonesia, Caroline Yeoh, Feng Hao Chua, Sylvie Tan
Economics Of Competition': A Study Of Low-Cost Manufacturing Enclaves In Batam Island, Indonesia, Caroline Yeoh, Feng Hao Chua, Sylvie Tan
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
Singapore’s transborder industrialization projects in China and India have received much attention. This regionalization initiative was intended to set in place a strategic configuration for the city-state to restructure its domestic industries and, pari passu, retain important linkages with contiguous, low-cost environments. Our study reports on Singapore’s pioneering, albeit lesser-known, project - Batamindo Industrial Park – in neighboring Batam Island, Indonesia, and finds that the strategic intent of this policy gambit remains stymied by non-economic, socio-political complexities in the host environment, and the economics of competition from other industrial estates in the vicinity of this prototype, remains to be addressed.
'A Hundred Flowers Bloom': The Re-Emergence Of The Chinese Press In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
'A Hundred Flowers Bloom': The Re-Emergence Of The Chinese Press In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
During the whole 32 years of Suharto’s regime (1966–98), Chinese publications and the use of Chinese language in public were officially banned in Indonesia. As a result, printed matter in Chinese characters that entered Indonesia was classified as ‘prohibited imports’ (Heryanto 1999: 327). This prohibition came to an end after the fall of Suharto, as part of the process of democratization and Reformasi. The post-Suharto era of Reformasi is thus celebrated for the dramatic revival of the freedom of the press and media in Indonesia and many previously banned as well as new publications have emerged since Suharto’s fall. The …
Assimilation, Multiculturalism, Hybridity: The Dilemmas Of Ethnic Chinese In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Assimilation, Multiculturalism, Hybridity: The Dilemmas Of Ethnic Chinese In Post-Suharto Indonesia, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The dominant discourse in accommodating the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia during Suharto's regime was one of assimilation, which forcefully aimed to absorb this minority into the national body. However, continuous official discrimination towards the Chinese placed them in a paradoxical position that made them an easy target of racial and class hostility. The May 1998 anti-Chinese riots proved the failure of the assmilationist policy. The process of democratization has given rise to a proliferation of identity politics in post-Suharto Indonesia. The policy of multiculturalism has been endorsed by Indonesia's current power holders as a preferred approach to rebuilding the nation, …
The Paradox Of Corruption As Antithesis To Economic Development: Does Corruption Undermine Economic Development In Indonesia And China, And Why Are The Experiences Different In Each Country?, Andrew White
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The question of whether corruption is antithetical to economic development has been extensively researched and debated since the 1960s. While nearly all participants in the debate appear to agree that corruption ultimately is antithetical to long-term economic development, the extent to which it positively or negatively affects economic development in the short term depends upon highly contextual factors. In different countries and regions of the world, factors of local culture and history, the nature of the state, the type of corruption and actors involved, and the political responses and motivations to curtail corruption all inform the answer to this question. …
Questioning Proximity: East Asian Tv Dramas In Indonesia, Charlotte Setijadi
Questioning Proximity: East Asian Tv Dramas In Indonesia, Charlotte Setijadi
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The study of transnational cultural flows has been of continuing interest among media and communication researchers, with recent studies focusing on cultural flows within geographically and culturally adjacent nations. It is often suggested that the level of “cultural proximity” that exists determines the success of cultural exchange between countries regarded to possess similar cultural traits. This notion, that local audiences will have preference for cultural commodities from countries with which they share cultural ties in recognition of their own culture, has enjoyed much intellectual currency in recent times, especially in relation to analyses of regional media markets. The danger of …
How To Be Chinese: Ethnic Chinese Experience A 'Reawakening' Of Their Chinese Identity, Chang Yau Hoon
How To Be Chinese: Ethnic Chinese Experience A 'Reawakening' Of Their Chinese Identity, Chang Yau Hoon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The post-Suharto era is an exciting period for Chinese Indonesians and other minority ethnic groups in Indonesia. After over three decades of cultural and political repression, Chinese Indonesians are now being given the opportunity to express their identity. The re-emergence of Chinese religion, language, and press in Indonesia since the end of the New Order, has had a significant impact on the development of ethnic Chinese identity. The strongly anti-Chinese sentiment expressed in the May 1998 riots in Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia, including the looting of Chinese-owned shops and businesses and the racially-motivated rapes, drastically altered the position of …
Embedded Co-Operation In The Context Of Singapore's Regionalization Program: The Batamindo Experiment Revisited, Caroline Yeoh, Adeline Kwan, Siang Yeung Wong
Embedded Co-Operation In The Context Of Singapore's Regionalization Program: The Batamindo Experiment Revisited, Caroline Yeoh, Adeline Kwan, Siang Yeung Wong
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
The development of Singapore-styled industrial parks has resided on the country’s ability to negotiate investment concessions at inter-government level, to provide superior infrastructure, and where existing, through the links to influential business groups in the investment location. Singapore’s first transborder industrialization project in Batam (Indonesia) reflects this stratagem. This paper revisits the debate on the attractiveness of the low-cost investment enclaves for multinational investments, with insights from Batamindo Industrial Park. Through evidence from on-site interviews and case studies, this paper concludes that while the project’s progress to date has been largely overshadowed by socio-political uncertainties in the host environment, its …